Tropical Storm Gabrielle Downgraded After Soaking Puerto Rico

Tropical Storm Gabrielle weakened to a tropical depression on Thursday as it moved over Puerto Rico toward the Dominican Republic.

The storm disintegrated into a mass of thunderstorms and its sustained winds fell to 35 miles per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. advisory, according to Reuters.

The storm was located about 80 miles south-southeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Forecasters said it was not expected to regain strength and will likely degenerate into a remnant of low pressure.

Tropical storm warnings had been issued for Puerto Rico and parts of the Dominican Republic, from Cabo Engano to Cabo Frances Viejo, according to The Associated Press.

Forecasters had expected the storm's center to pass between the islands on Thursday and eventually curve back to the northeast away from the U.S. mainland. However, storm paths are difficult to predict accurately days in advance.

Heavy rains were still expected across Puerto Rico, according to state meteorologist Ernesto Morales.

"We should not lower our guard," he said. "The storm is very dangerous. There's a very high possibility of flooding."

Reuters reported that the storm system now was expected to dump between 2 to 4 inches of rain across Puerto Rico and possibly up to 8 inches in the central, mountainous region of the island, according to the hurricane center.

Gabrielle was the seventh named storm of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which has yet to record a hurricane. Forecasters have predicted an above average season, which runs from June to November and is now entering its most active period.

The rainfall in Puerto Rico comes amid one of the wettest years on record on the U.S. territory. Rainfall in the capital, San Juan, is nearly two feet above average for the year, meteorologist Jeff Masters said in his Weather Underground blog.

Weather watchers were also following a storm system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. The mass of low pressure and thunderstorms off the coast of Mexico had a 30 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone, the hurricane center said.
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